Thousands attend Bloody Sunday March for Justice

Eamon Sweeney

A crowd of up to 4,000 marched through Derry this afternoon to commemorate the 44th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

Despite torrential rain the crowd assembled at Central Drive in Creggan for the beginning of the march at 3.00 p.m.

More and more families have come forward and spoken out and demanded the truth and have said ‘we are not satisfied.

Eamonn McCann

The march, as it has done now for over four decades, took its traditional route through Creggan, Brandywell, Bogside, Westland Street, William Street before ending at Free Derry Corner in Rossville Street.

The rally was addressed by Kate Nash whose brother, William, was shot dead by British Paratroopers and whose father, Alex, was seriously wounded when attempting to come to his son’s aid on January 31, 1972.

Kate said that the latest information that she had in regard to the PSNI investigation into Bloody Sunday was that they have said they will begin the process of interviewing soldiers present on the day as of February.

“They have told us that this may take several months. But, knowing the PSNI as I do, I won’t hold my breath,” she said.

The main speaker at the rally was Eamonn McCann. Addressing the issue of the continuation of the rally five years after the release of the findings of the Saville Report into the killings of 14 people and the wounding of 26 people on Bloody Sunday, he said :”After five years it is perfectly clear who the right side was about whether we continue to march or not.

“More and more families have come forward and spoken out and demanded the truth and have said ‘we are not satisfied.’ The Bloody Sunday campaign will be here for many years to come and this campaign is emblematic of many other campaigns throughout the world.

“The reason we are here is very simple, very simple. It is not a matter of orange and green, it is a democratic issue. When armed, uniformed men, who represent the State erupt into a working class area in broad daylight and start shooting dead and maiming people in the name of the state, then the State must be held to account.”